The fifth weekly biblical portion in Deuteronomy is Shoftim, “Judges.” The rabbis who were descendants of the ancient Pharisees viewed this portion as supporting the Pharisees’ views, rather than ...

When you enter the land I am going to give you and you reap its harvest, bring to the priest a sheaf of the first grain you harvest… From the day after the Sabbath, the day you brought the sheaf of ...

Once again, the Pharisees want to trap Jesus. Matthew 22 is full of controversies. After opening with the parable of the wedding feast and the man without a wedding garment, there follow four separate ...

In the first century of our era there were many sects and schools in Jewish society. We hear about the Essenes, of course, the Jews of Qumran, the Dead Sea Scrolls, who separated themselves from the ...

For the past several weeks, Matthew’s Gospel has been unrelenting in his attacks on the Pharisees. They are presented as faithless husbandmen in a vineyard they try to seize for their own. They are ...